What is the first thing that comes to your mind when asked to describe a beautiful woman? Most people would have an answer
similar to this – ‘A beautiful woman is curvaceous yet thin, fair, with flawless glowing skin and silky smooth hair’. If there are a few
people who agree with the above description, the situation isn’t that bad, but in today’s world, majority of the people are going by
that description and it is time to step back and take a look at what is going on. The strongest influencing power is in the hands of
the media, if used correctly it can do wonders, but if misused, the condition can become awful. The representation of women in
media is anything but diverse and equitable. When it comes to depicting women, there are limited and stereotypical roles given to
them. A woman is rarely the main character of a show or movie, and if she is, there is always an added sex appeal to her, whether
or not the character requires it is not considered. To find a character of a woman that real women can relate to is very rare.

‘Beauty’ is something that cannot be defined. One can find beauty in the simplest of things; it doesn’t have to be extravagant to be
beautiful. But society today has a rigid mindset about a beautiful or rather perfect woman, and no doubt this mindset has been
formed due to what media shows them. If a woman is like the actresses on TV, who have an unrealistic and naturally unattainable
look, then and only then is she fit to be called beautiful. And any woman, who does not equate with this ridiculous opinion of a
‘perfect woman’ created by society, is looked down upon, which is nothing but a form of inhuman treatment. Just like men,
women too are humans and deserve to be treated likewise. Beauty pageants contribute in making life worse for the ‘real’ women
who are far off from society’s opinion on beauty. The winners of those pageants are looked at as role models by girls and even
women across the world. They strive harder each day by starving and going through cosmetic surgeries, just to look ‘beautiful’ like
them. And of course this harms their health and self-esteem. How many of them realise that technology has played a role in
making the models what they are on TV? Before being broadcasted, a series of various editing processes are gone through to get
the so-called ‘perfect’ look.

Shows, movies or books that target the easily influencable teenagers have the most severe adverse effects. What is shown is taken
to be the ideal, and this leads to the teenagers losing their individuality just to be what they see. Take for example the novel
‘Twilight’ by Stephenie Meyer, one of the main characters Bella Swan is shown to be completely dependent on her vampire
boyfriend Edward Cullen and werewolf friend Jacob Black. She is shown to be meek and delicate. This kind of an image when
absorbed by young girls, manipulate their mind in such a way that they feel like being exactly what they see. The stereotypes used
to represent women are absurd to a level that can’t be explained. If a woman is driven, independent and career-oriented, she has to
be insensitive and unapproachable, like the character of Dr. Christina Yang in the TV show Grey’s Anatomy. And if a woman is
motherly and warm, she has no line of business in life. If a woman cries, she is emotional and weak, and if she is strong and shrewd,
she is put into a completely different category. A woman has to be on either extreme end when portrayed by the media, she simply
can’t be shown to be a balanced person. And these stereotypes, consciously or unconsciously get drilled into people’s minds,
leading them to forget who a woman really is.

The way women are used in advertisements is nothing less than degrading. Women are not products, they aren’t meant to be
marketed and advertised. They are displayed as objects of desire, objects that are meant for a fixed range of purposes and the
stereotypes used to showcase them support the same. The product being advertised will have no connection to the partially-
dressed woman displayed; the only motives of placing the woman there would be to evoke interest and make the product
appealing by taking advantage of feminine features. In commercials such as those of ‘Axe’ deodorant, women are shown to go out
of their way just to be with the man. The core message that comes along with these ads is that women only desire certain things.
And due to this misleading portrayal, some men end up making dim-witted assumptions that all women are desperate sex-seeking
creatures, and get into heaps of trouble by approaching the wrong women with the wrong intentions. These ads also affect
women by making them feel that it is their duty to serve men and satisfy their outrageous fantasies. In Fifty Shades of Grey,
Anastasia Steele is shown to find pleasure in violent sexual acts and being dominated by her boyfriend Christian Grey. And that is
the reason why this novel was so successful; people still find amusement in female domination.

To be available in the marriage market, a woman has to be a perfect fit in society’s view of a perfect woman and has to fulfill all
the ludicrous matrimonial demands. One of the main concerns is the woman’s skin tone. Fair is beautiful and dark is ugly. This
socially constructed ideal is something a girl encounters during various stages in her life in a range of different forms. As a child
she plays with Barbies who in fact have an unattainable body image, she watches Disney princesses, each of them being light-
toned with sexually-appealing features, and they become her role model, she attempts to be like them one day. Instead of letting
the child grow and have her own ideals, she is presented with these.

The harm caused by the misrepresentation of women is irreversible in most cases, it is permanent and severe. By raising awareness
about this issue and joining hands with those few who are fighting hard each day for an appropriate depiction of women, the
world can recover. It is time to help make a change for all women.